Each day commuters can observe a full complement of common traffic violations by cyclists. What you may not know is that the local media has reported that at least four Vision Councillors are among the cyclists that have ignored or willfully disregarded these traffic regulations.
The offenders start right at the top with Vision Mayor Robertson. The mayor is reported to have ignored a red light and was lucky to escape an injury thanks to an experienced transit driver. While Mayor Robertson was reported to be “reluctant to admit wrongdoing”. The Province reported that the Mayor receive “a full 10 on a one-to-10 scale of dumb things cyclists do”.
Vision Councillor Meggs was less fortunate when he caused an accident after failing to stop at a stop sign. He sustained back injuries but it could have been worse had he not been wearing a helmet. Multiple papers reported on this incident but only one, Vancouver Courier, mentioned that the accident was a direct result of Coun. Meggs failure to stop at the stop sign.
Two other Vision Councillors Jang and Stevenson were caught riding side-by-side. While the piece implied that traffic-obstructing, side-by-side cycling is a “common practice among many cyclists”, riding side-by-side is illegal. Worse, the article reported that the Councillors continued to ride side-by-side despite being told by a riding instructor that practice was against the law.
Cyclists ignoring red lights or stop signs, obstructing traffic by riding side-by-side, riding against the traffic and illegally passing on the right are typical traffic violations that commuters have to put up with from cyclists each and every day. What commuters shouldn't have to put with is the poor examples set by high-profile Vision politicians that demonstrate their disrespect for other citizens and local laws.
